Surprise wins, new personal bests, and tight races abound at Fitzgerald Motorsports Park.
Back in February, diesel drag racing received a major shot in the arm when Blake Fitzgerald gained an ownership stake in the Outlaw Diesel Super Series. Moving quickly since also taking ownership of the old Crossville Dragway—home of the treasured Rocky Top Diesel Shootout and which has been renamed Fitzgerald Motorsports Park—Fitzgerald went to work, treating the eighth-mile track and its surroundings to a host of updates. The weekend of June 20-21, this revered, east Tennessee facility played host to the inaugural FP Diesel Warz event—the third stop on the 2025 ODSS schedule.
The first FP Diesel Warz race would come to epitomize what the term “any given race day” means, as even though plenty of the usual ODSS suspects were on hand nearly every racing category proved unpredictable. A previous champion broke, one of the fastest trucks on the property kicked the tires when it mattered most, and several heavy hitters were unable to make the trip to Tennessee. By the end of the weekend, a handful of first-time winners were crowned, which served to shake up the season standings and set the stage for a dramatic points chase going forward. Here’s how it all went down.
Since performing a host of changes over the winter, including a 500-pound diet with 9-inch axles and a complete reworking of the truck’s suspension, Paul Cato has had his hands full with his common-rail second-gen. Under power, Paul simply hasn’t been able to get the truck to go straight—until FP Diesel Warz. Tracing part of the problem to the front Wavetrac differential, it went away before the trip to Tennessee, and his first pass—a half-track hit—proved the truck’s high speed torque steer issue was all but gone. In route to winning the Pro Truck class, Paul put together two 4.95-second passes before running a 4.93 in the final against Austin Denny’s big boost, compound turbo’d 6.0L Power Stroke.Deadly on the tree and making consistent A-to-B passes has come to define Jayle Wagler, driver of the Wagler Competition Products Duramax-powered rail. Now in her second season running ODSS, the 19-year-old has built a reputation for cutting lightning-quick lights and giving veteran racers a run for their money. She’s also known for competing in both 5.70 Index and Top Diesel. In 5.70, S&S Diesel Motorsport’s Ryan Reiser would put Jayle on the trailer after a nail-biter. But in Top Diesel, she would put up a new personal best of 5.22 at 128 mph and earn the win—her second of the season.The turnout might’ve been low in 6.70 Index, but the field was chock full of talent, as Andy Hacker (left) can attest to. He and his third-gen quad cab had to beat out the likes of Chris Naudain (Outlaw Diesel Revenge 6.70 winner and current 6.70 points leader, shown) and last year’s champion, Jeremy Stickney, in order to get the win. It’s a victory that bumps Andy into Third Place in points for the season and keeps both aforementioned drivers within reach. Already having finished third in the standings in 2024, we have a feeling Andy will be locked in for the remainder of the year.After a leaking water-to-air intercooler hydrolocked a cylinder and broke a rocker in Justin Zeigler’s fire-breathing Cummins, the Super Diesel class was reduced to just two entries. However, the stage was set for an interesting final: Nick Bell vs. Nathannial DeLong, Dodge vs. Ford, Cummins vs. Power Stroke, 2WD vs. 4×4. Already having run 4.50s at Outlaw Diesel Revenge, Nick’s ultra-light and billet-aluminum Wagler Cummins-equipped third-gen was the clear favorite. But in racing, anything can happen. On the launch, Nick’s Ram kicked the tires while Nathannial and the four-wheel drive Rudy’s Performance Parts Super Duty dug in and took off, ultimately going 4.71 at 157 mph for the win.Second Place at Rudy’s Spring Truck Jam, Second Place at Outlaw Diesel Revenge…you could see things building for Skylar Fornes (left) in the races leading up to FP Diesel Warz. In Tennessee, his Exergy-fueled, Firepunk-tuned 5.9L Cummins was running right on the money in 5.70 Index, so much so that it was no surprise to find him in the final. There, he edged out Spencer Prichard and his 6.7L-powered Ford (shown). Spencer’s Super Duty packs a 6.7L Power Stroke built and tuned by Snyder Performance Engineering, benefits from Exergy fueling, a Sam Wyse transmission and Hot Shot’s Secret fluids, with RLC Motorsports also lending a helping hand. Between Spencer, Ryan Reiser, and Brad Helton, the 6.7L Ford platform is making strong in-roads within one of diesel’s quickest racing categories.It’s always a pleasure watching Keith Languell’s F-350 go rounds in both ET Bracket and 7.70 Index. Unfortunately, Keith had been battling to slow the regular cab Ford down from 7.50s to 7.70, and right before loading up for the race in Tennessee he thought he had it figured out. He did, as the built engine, built transmission Super Duty hung close to his 7.70 dial-in all weekend. Unfortunately, the 0.0xx reaction times Keith had been turning in disappeared late Saturday afternoon with a 0.150—enough for Dustin Mintern to end his chances of winning ET Bracket. Veteran racer Matt Maier would take Keith out of contention in 7.70 Index, but not before he grabbed enough points to remain seventh overall in the season standings.Based on looks alone, it’s hard to miss Randell Dueck’s ‘87 Chevy. Both unique and impressive, his square body swapped, 6.70 Index contender sports an ’05 Silverado chassis and powertrain, and the Duramax under the hood is backed by an Allison 1000 with a trans-brake. It’s run a fuel-only, 6.15 in the eighth-mile in the past (back when a GT50 Garrett supplied its boost), which is tempting Randell to pursue the 4×4 Allison record (a 5.61 at 132 mph held by Nathan Bandstra). In Tennessee and competing in 6.70 trim, the truck went 6.70x during testing on Friday, but was put on the trailer by Jeremy Stickney Saturday afternoon.Jordan Blackard was in town with his compound turbo’d, VP44-fueled 5.9L looking to defend a big ET Bracket class win at Outlaw Diesel Revenge. But after an unfortunate round 2 exit, Jordan focused his racing efforts on 7.70 Index. After qualifying fifth amid two dozen talented drivers, he would make it to the semifinals before losing a tight race (7.77 vs. 7.77) to veteran racer, Dustin Mintern. Luckily, Jordan lost zero ground in the points chase in ET Bracket and left Crossville second in the standings. In 7.70 Index, he sits 10th out of 62 entries so far in 2025.Watching Cody Helms’ P-pumped 12-valve mix it up in the 5.70 Index class (and 5.90 class last season) is always entertaining. Even in high-noon sun, the candle is always lit on his mechanical monster (and technically two candles if you include the wastegate). This year, Cody has turned to water injection to help cool the Cummins down. In the past, he told us the engine saw EGT in excess of 2,000 degrees throughout the duration of each pass, but that now it’s much more manageable. With his second-gen trying to live in the 5.60s these days, Cody was primarily focused on slowing the truck down at FP Diesel Warz.Dustin Mintern is known for traversing the country to compete at both ODSS and NHRDA races with his ultra-consistent Silverado. But what some may not know is that his Bow Tie has 328,000 miles on the odometer and a Duramax that’s 100-percent original—factory head bolts and all. After drag racing had ceased on Friday, Dustin even drove the truck to a sled pull 2.5 hours away, winning one class and taking second in another. Back at the track on Saturday, last year’s ODSS ET Bracket champion went rounds and moved up to Fourth Place in overall points, and then made it to the finals in 7.70 Index.After scoring a surprise semifinals upset of Emanuel Yoder, Kameron Campbell went on to win the 7.70 Index class at FP Diesel Warz. Kameron’s tool of choice is a familiar one, an ’06 third-gen with a potent yet de-tuned 5.9L common-rail motivating the truck in reliable fashion. It’s a truck that’s made more than 900 hp and 1,600 lb-ft of torque on the dyno in the past, but only needs 700-ish ponies to go rounds, repeatedly. Fifth in points now, we look forward to seeing if Kameron can bring the same consistency to the Bluegrass Truck Jam in Bowling Green, Kentucky.Another racer who seemingly came out of the woodwork in Tennessee was Dakota Palmer. His cat-eye Duramax proved impressive throughout the event, beating the likes of Brian Borkholder and Ben Scheuring in route to earning the ET Bracket class win. Dakota’s Silverado benefits from a stout Allison build from Firepunk Diesel (one of the company’s A900 units) and spot-on tuning. His DSP5 switch was left in the number 2 position to run his 7.7x elapsed times. Rumor has it that the FP Diesel Warz event was only the truck’s second trip to a track since its winter upgrades. Watch out for this talented truck and driver duo.You’re looking at the culmination of being bitten by the diesel racing bug. After Steve Robbins dropped a work truck off at Rowdy’s Automotive & Motorsports for an oil leak fix, he noticed Brad Helton’s 5.70 Index Ford sitting in the corner of the shop. Fast-forward several months and Steve is going rounds in 6.70 Index behind the wheel of a Rowdy-built ’05 Cummins. In two races, Steve has a pair of Fourth Place finishes and currently sits fifth in points. Further down the road, Steve plans to compete in the 5.70 Index class.
